GM Volt: What Are They Hiding?

Are you ready for the official EPA fuel economy ratings? Wan'a know how far it'll go, once the ymmv, but unlikely 40 mile ev mode is spent?

Fixed that for ya

 

Actually I think that it's a serious problem for the EPA. If only the Volt or the PHV Prius were concerned then it would be simpler. But what and how do they categorize the Leaf.

Infinite mpg? It's true but it's meaningless for the general public that needs to be given simple indicators.

 

"Total useable EV charge from full in this vehicle is XX kwh. This is good for YY city miles, ZZ highway miles using standard EPA test cycles."

And in the case of a PHEV: "When the battery is discharged, this car will get AA city miles/gallon, BB highway miles/gallon."

The wrangling are attempts by the manufacturers to to use a cycle that optimizes EV use for *their* car. Move along, nothing to see here but typical political BS.

 

I originally heard it would be 50 like the prius after exhausting initial charge but then when Edmunds got their hands on a review a week or two back it was more like 33, which is crap--and remember, this thing is on premium. I'd love to hear what the real figure is.

 

Toyota certainly has nothing to hide. My first adventure with a PHV model Prius (just moments ago) started with 3.7 miles of EV available. It was 15.5 miles of suburb driving, a round-trip to my mom's. That usually results in a MPG of low 50's. With the plug, I saw a 15 MPG boost and much more regen than usual. Anywho, the point is they let us play. I'm gathering real-world data and sharing it with y'all. Imagine if GM did that. Hmm?

Next is to find out what a full charge results in and the efficiency with both EV sub-packs depleted. And I will, very soon!
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I think they are hiding a lot, the Prius plug-in already has numerous re-world trials in progress. I have yet to hear about any with the Volt that are not run by GM engineers...

 

From the screenshots of their test vehicles, the lifetime MPG ranges from 60.5 to 71.5 MPG.

One of the dealer tanning module has a screen showing 190 lifetime MPG. I question accuracy of the training module screenshots because it is known to be inaccurate or photo-shopped.

 

The first real-world observation of MPG in CS-mode (after the battery is depleted) is now available.

This article from Popular Mechanics states their measure at 32 city and 36 highway.

Those are numbers many enthusiasts have regretted, hoping somehow the much boasted target of 50 would somehow be delivered.
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While the numbers are disappointing I can not say PM gave us enough detail to judge the numbers.

One number that was pretty good..... 33 miles electric range at 78MPH. Range at 55mph should be pretty close to 40 miles on the highway.

I was sold on the Volt originally. I am not any longer. A higher price, a more complex transmission and CS mpg that is just a hair to low for me. I would be satisfied with 40mpg combined.

"Finally, we drove the Volt for nearly 600 miles on the highway only, a tough test for any hybrid since there's no opportunity for brake regeneration. Also, we set the cruise at a typically brisk Michigan highway traffic speed—78 mph. Still the Volt's EV range beat that first day when we were really trying: 33 miles. "

 

Well, some die-hard fans are still calling the 36 MPG (highway) sweet. It appears nothing about the Volt can be disappointing.

 

I'm sorry to be harsh but 32/36 on a car costing this much with only 4 seats and requiring premium gasoline is CRAP. Honestly no way to sugar coat it.

I hope that 32/36 is inaccurate.

I see now that Toyota is talking about a plug-in range on their Prius of 30 miles (an article or two posted recently). If that's going to be standard in the PHEV up from 14 and we know the Prius rocks out even when running in gas mode it's going to be a very tough sell buying the volt.

And I'm not a Prius sycophant; I like the Leaf so far, even after we've learned of its real-life range.

 

The Volt already got GM what it needed - a congressional (read - taxpayer) bailout. This car can not / will not save GM from the cold, hard reality: a belly up!!!

Dbcassidy

 

A 305 horsepower 2011 Mustang gets 31 MPG highway on 87 grade (at least it's rated at this). Compare to the Volt which I understand requires premium. $2.90 premium vs $2.70 87 (at least around here) means that the 305 horsepower car gets equivalent of 33 mpg vs the volt's 36. That is astonishing, and not in a good way.

 

From an article in the Detroit News today where an auto writer drove the car:

"More important, though, during one test-drive of the Volt, which started with the batteries depleted and the four-passenger, five-door car operating entirely in extended range mode, the Volt managed 43 mpg."

http://detnews.com/article/20101012/OPINION03/10120328/1148/Volt-offers-an-electric-ride--sets-new-auto-standardhttp://detnews.com/article/20101012/OPINION03/10120328/1148/Volt-offers-an-electric-ride--sets-new-auto-standard

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See, that is more like it. It seems we may not really know what's up until somebody buys one and puts a few thousand miles into it.

 

i did my test drive of the Volt and talked with the ride along guy and he would not even hint at the overall mileage you would get only stating that GM's official word will be what the EPA determines and apparently the EPA has not (or at least GM wont admit it) completed their calculations.

more importantly, he did say that extensive testing has verified a 25-50 mile EV range. that would be great for me, but the car is smaller than a Prius and i could not possibly think of something smaller for out of town trips. simply not even a possibility. after the Disney trip, which is not typical. 12 days in a car is a bit extreme; i realized that we needed every inch of space that the Prius offered

 

You can only, only, compare fuel economy with a standard drive cycle and rigorous test conditions. Popular Mechanics are doing anything but.

The Volt's 40 mile EV range is almost certainly on the LA-4, also known as FTP-72, drive cycle, because that is the prescribed test regime for electric vehicles. This is a predecessor of the FTP-75 test that forms the basis of the pre-2006 'City' test, though the result of that test has been discounted by a standard fudge factor for fossil-fuel vehicles for a long time, and I believe the fudge factor was changed a few times to make it more 'realistic'. FTP-75 is actually just FTP-72 starting with a cold engine and a repeat of the first part at the end.

This is the same test that gives the Leaf a 100 mile range, and the Tesla Roadster a 244 mile range.

If you want to compare with a conventional car (can we call them 'legacy cars' yet?) or a charge-sustaining hybrid, you need to run down the battery to charge-sustaining level, then - as with any other car - run the full EPA test cycle and apply the appropriate fudge factors.